Scarif - small test map - checking the terrain making. + little tutorial ;)

[Langerd]

Today i wanted to spend my time on making small map using the terrain.. i always have problems to make terrain in the gtkradiant. So i tried to make terrain full in the Blender. The final result is pretty cool i must say

 

 

dont pay too much attention on skybox and small island because it is just a test.

 

How to do this? I make it like this - BLENDER

 

1-Make a plane and use multiresolution modifier BUT simple. Subdivide it to 6 and hit apply

 

You should get something like that (just example)

 

2-go to object mode and change shading to be smooth. Select the sculpt tool and start to make something . The key is You should do this only from bird eye persprective. Press num7 button on Your keyboard. Also check in the user preferences/interface that Your  auto perspetcive is marked . In the end of sculpting fix your terrain like it is in square. Edges to the 20 distance on all sides

 

 

3-this method that You see is for not complex terrain only.. for making more terrain and more complex stuff You should pay more attention about the size of faces , and also how to texture whole thing. I will go easy here on textures but for other projects - You should rly pay more attention on that... the point is that - this method would work for caves, monster stomach (for example sarlacc), mountains or even trees!!! The limit is our imagination and also jk3 engine possibilities. 

So i made that terrain , bake the textures and play with it a little. To be honest You can make the entire model MUCH MUCH more detail !!! But You rly must pay attention on some things .. because we wouldnt for example export the 140000 face model to our game right? 

 

 

Well i made uv layout , baked textures , make changes in the paint.net and this is what i got. Textures must be 256x256 512x512 etc. but i suggest high 2048x2048 (i dont remember if we can go higher). For me it is small crater on sullust

 

4-The model i made has 4096 faces.. if You think about this .. that is a lot of... BUT Making terrain in easy gen for example takes very similar amount.. so is this method rly that great ? Well In my opion .. yes.. terrain should not be very detail and You rly want to make as less faces as possible and as the model will starting too look like crap or not. That is why we will use decimate modifier. It show us the amount of the faces. 

With lower amount of the faces - lower amount of triangles, lower amount of patches (about that later) and less memory but lower quality. But we can do the trick - 

 

 

-copy the terrain and put it on the other layer

-lower the amount of faces with tge decimate modifier. .. i lower it to even 0.2. apply and You will see that Your model is lower quality and the texures is gone!!! Dont worry! Select Your higgher quality model and give it the texture in the texture options - the one that You made. With that in object mode select This model than go to the lower quality model (the one that we used modifier on) press tab (edit mode will select the Uv layout as well) and now we make new image 2048x2048 name it what we want and ... hit bake BUT from texture. The Texture from higher model will be on the lower quality model. The diffrence in look is diffrent yeah .. but not so much... but speaking about vertexes and faces amount - A LOT diffrent situation right there Model on the right can be use in the game!!!

 

5-Well we can convert the model now as the md3 model but... wait a minute... We wont be walking on the model right?? Because it is not solid and making physics clip would waste sooo much time...

DONT DO IT THAT WAY!!! Select the model export it as the MD3. When done that export it once again BUT now as the map file. Later in the Gtkradiant prepare the scale of the map and scale of Your MD3 model. You rly need to  pay attention here because - YOU WILL PUT THE Exported Map On the Model So they NEED to be the same size. Open other gtkradiant and look for the exported map. file. select it all and copy it to the map with the model. merged them and Voila ^^ ALSO Remember that patches can use a shader like that:

 

 

textures/scarif/magma_clip

{

qer_editorimage textures/system/physics_clip

q3map_material rock

qer_trans 0.3

surfaceparm nodraw

surfaceparm trans

q3map_nolightmap

}

 

What this will do is that it will work like physics clip WITH the rock material. Foosteps will make diffrent noises. If You are making snow terrain or sand terrain You can change that as well!!! to q3map_material snow for example. If Your map has more than one type of terrain You just simply make diffrent clip shader and change patches texture to snow_clip where the model is covered in snow!! If there are small places with rock You just simply change material to rock etc. 

 

REMEMBER!!! Clips are used here for making player to be able to walk on the terrain, to add solid effect (blaster shots impact on the walls and ground) and also with the shaders You can add material or even other effects - the floor is ice so You add slick to make player slide on that terrain.

 

The MD3 model is for atmoshpere , design overall looking . If You would hit solid in the Gtkradiant the effect would be worse.. because it wont use clip with material .. Also this method allows Us to make slightly but a little less detailed clip construction - just use decimate again and export as the map and it goes on and on..

 

6-With all that compile the map and check it in the game... be happy with Your first MD3 terrain map!!!

Adding more heart to Your map You can get rly great effects

 

[Noodle]

Just amazing. There's always something new to learn when you mod this game. 

 

This tutorial should also be on the tutorial section, it'll be a great help to mappers that want to do things in an open space. 

[Kuhe]

This is epic

[Langerd]

Well about clip texture You can edit it still in the blender. Sometimes model does not need detail cliping because there is a flat wall or flat floor(maybe not 100% but You know what i mean ) so You just simply remove some faces and place flat 4 sided plane , make quads to tris and it goes on and on...  You can edit is as You want. 

Also this method is cool because if we want to add pipes or old buildings that are Md3 and they are in the terrain We can not only make it smoother looking but also later in gtkradiant add clip but with brushes. 

I rly dont remember which costs more memory - detail brushes or tris patch.... 

This method ALSOOOooo give us more flexibility. For example if You are making a terrain with a cave Your map should be small boxes conected together. With the terrain made in easy gen........ You wont do anything like this because these are brushes.. everything is diffrent than You think. But i rly prefer this than makin terrain with brushes and easy gen.

[ZanderNao]

HOLY CRAP! Oh my god... I dream of new maps, even if they are just small test maps.... Thanks for educating the public!

[Jolly]

Brilliant. 

[Smoo]

That is awesomesauce

[RAILBACK]

Well about clip texture You can edit it still in the blender. Sometimes model does not need detail cliping because there is a flat wall or flat floor(maybe not 100% but You know what i mean ) so You just simply remove some faces and place flat 4 sided plane , make quads to tris and it goes on and on...  You can edit is as You want. 

 

Also this method is cool because if we want to add pipes or old buildings that are Md3 and they are in the terrain We can not only make it smoother looking but also later in gtkradiant add clip but with brushes. 

 

I rly dont remember which costs more memory - detail brushes or tris patch.... 

 

This method ALSOOOooo give us more flexibility. For example if You are making a terrain with a cave Your map should be small boxes conected together. With the terrain made in easy gen........ You wont do anything like this because these are brushes.. everything is diffrent than You think. But i rly prefer this than makin terrain with brushes and easy gen.

I love hand made brushwork. Its relaxing and I can really get creative.